Don't Open the Door
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: Sam, Laura, Parker and Jason are passing their Halloween watching horror movies. But it appears that finding the perfect horror movie is easier said then done.


Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. None of the movies belong to me either. Parker belongs to the fabulous writer Lucie Brody (read her story "As I Am" to get all of Parker's details) and Halloween doesn't belong to me. Just Christmas. Just kidding.

A/N: In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I'd do a Halloween story. Wow, what an idea. Anyway, it's set once they're in Mexico and is just useless drabble to make myself feel useful in the DAT category. Please review and enjoy.

"This is so stupid." Mumbled Parker Hall, narrowing her eyes at the television screen. When no one responded to her comment, she spoke again. "Stupid." She spoke louder this time, hoping to get a raise or a comment out of someone but once again, she was met with nothing but silence. Parker turned to look at the row of people sitting beside her on the couch in the Hall's living room to see if they were even paying attention to her, only to find that they were not. Sam Hall, her little brother, his girlfriend, Laura Chapman and Parker's own on-again-off-again boyfriend, Jason Evans, were all staring, rapt at the television screen.

Parker sighed, narrowing her eyes even further, as she looked back to the screen to see if the movie had suddenly changed into something more worth her attention. It had not, however, leaving her staring at a bloody, snarling Saint Bernard that was trying to tear a child limb from limb.

"Stupid." Parker repeated for the third time, faking a yawn. "And boring."

Sam finally looked over at his older sister, glaring at her. "Be quiet Parker." He commanded, his own voice barely above a whisper. "I can't hear the movie."

Parker had the suspicion that her brother wasn't all that interesting in hearing the movie, seeing as his girlfriend was practically on top of him, hiding her face against his chest with one eye on the screen. But she didn't say so; it was a trick she had used more then once in her teenage years. "There's nothing to hear." Parker pointed out instead. "Just screaming and growling."

Sam didn't comment but returned his eyes to the screen. At the moment, Dee Wallace was staring at the rapid Cujo like a very unhappy postal worker as she beat the title character of the 80's movie with a baseball bat she had just happened to come across. Parker's eyes grew wide as she watched the washed-up actress pummel poor Cujo and came up with yet another comment to voice. "How horrible." She complained. "Dogs have feelings too."

Laura lifted her head from Sam's chest and looked at the blonde. "Yes but that dog is crazy." She pointed out, looking at the now beaten dog with anxiety in her eyes. "He tried to eat those people."

Parker waved her hand dismissively. "Animal rights, Lola." She informed the girl. "Dogs don't deserve to be beaten to bloody pulps in some bad Stephen King movie."

Laura looked away from Parker, figuring that she couldn't win an argument with the Animal Rights Activist. Instead, she watched as the distraught and bloody mother carried her son into a ransacked house, called the police and proceeded to give water to her dying son. Laura screamed in surprise when Cujo, who was not dead as everyone had believed, came charging into the house, and covered her face with her hands again. Parker couldn't help but laugh as she popped another piece of popcorn into her mouth; Lola was just too amusing.

The smile vanished from her face, however, when Dee Wallace managed to pull a pistol out of nowhere and shoot the foaming dog. She looked at the television set in disgust. "That's it." Parker snapped, getting up and shutting off the video. "No more of that."

Laura slowly lifted her head, looking nervously at the television. "Is it over?" She questioned.

Parker tossed the VHS tape over her shoulder, ignoring it as it landed in one of her step-mother's potted plants. "It is now." She remarked flippantly. "And I'm picking the next movie." She paused and looked over at the trio still sitting on the couch. "Who picked that movie anyway?"

Reluctantly, Jason raised his hand. "It always scared me as a kid." He mumbled, fearing the comment that was soon about to leave his girlfriend's mouth.

"Figures." Parker said scornfully. "Men get scared by the dumbest things."

Laura looked at Parker first and then over at Jason. "I thought it was scary." She told the older man. "I hate Cujo." She shuddered and pulled herself closer to Sam, who had no problem with her sudden fear of the Saint Bernard. Parker could almost see her brother planning on buying a copy of _Cujo _to keep at hand, just in case.

"It wasn't scary." Parker informed those in the living. "And it's Halloween. Therefore, we have to watch something that's actually scary." She went thumbing through the collection of DVDs and videos that had been amassed that evening, trying to find a movie she deemed scary.

Parker picked up one movie and raised an eyebrow. "_The Texas Chainsaw Massacre_?" She read off the title. "Whoever thought this movie was scary should be shot in the head." She didn't miss the way that Sam looked away, trying to act as though the movie wasn't from his collection. "Stupid, boring, stupid." She tossed aside several choices. "_A Nightmare on Elm Street_, good one." But she tossed it aside.

"Just pick a movie Parker." Sam commanded impatiently. Earlier, they had decided that the best way to spend Halloween was at the Hall's, watching horror movies with the lights off and trying to be scared. But, after everything that had happened in the past year, he found it hard to believe that there was any movie in the world that could scare him anymore.

Parker shot her brother a look and went back to the videos. Finally, she pulled out a DVD. "_The Ring_." She informed those on the couch. "Scary." She put it in the DVD player.

"That's not scary." Laura told the blonde, raising an eyebrow. "It's just about a video tape."

Parker glared at her. "Lola, I don't make fun of you for being scared of dogs in makeup now do I?" She questioned and the brunette shook her head, deciding to avoid whatever confrontation Parker could stir up. "Now shut up and watch _The Ring_." She sat down on the couch beside Jason.

"I like Naomi Watts." Jason remarked against his better judgment and promptly received a whack from his girlfriend. "What?" He questioned, shrinking away from her. "I have to listen to you talk about all the guys you like but I can't say that I like Naomi Watts?"

"Of course not." Parker informed him, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now prepare to be scared."

Jason looked at his girlfriend. "You're all ready scary enough." He said, once again against his better judgment. Yet again, Parker hit him, not taking her eyes away from the screen.

Everyone settled into silence as the movie opened, showing two teenage girls sitting in a bedroom, talking about television. Parker's eyes grew wide with every passing second, especially when one of the girls spoke of a killer video tape. The blonde clenched her fingers into fists when the phone rang in the movie and she breathed a sigh of relief when the person on the other line turned out to be Amber Tamblyn's mother.

However, Parker grew tense again when the television in the living room turned on, signaling the start of the curse that was going to take the life of the character named Katie. Laura yawned, just as bored with _The Ring _as Parker had been with _Cujo_; she had seen the movie so many times she could quote along with the actors. She was certain that Parker had seen the movie just as many times and was stunned that the blonde was still frightened. Parker looked just as frightened as Amber Tamblyn when the girl went racing up the stairs, toward her bedroom.

"Don't open the door!" Parker cried suddenly, surprising everyone in the room and causing them to jump in surprise. "Don't open it!" She buried her face in her hands.

Sam looked at his blonde sister once his heart had stopped pounding. "What is wrong with you?" He questioned, staring at the girl.

Parker looked at her brother with innocent and fear in her eyes. "What? I was just telling her not to open the door. That thing is on the other side of the door and it's going to kill her." She explained. "I was just trying to help."

Laura looked at the blonde, trying to figure out if she was being serious. Finally, she said, "But she can't hear you, Parker." The blonde blinked. "Every time you watch this movie, she's going to open the door."

Parker glared at the brunette. "You're going to ruin it." She snapped. "Some of us have never seen the movie."

Laura looked at her. "Who? Who's never seen the movie?" She looked expectantly at the blonde. "We've all seen it."  
"Fine then." Parker snapped, getting to her feet and switching the DVD off before Jason got the chance to see his Australian sweetheart. She tossed it aside as well, not bothering to put it in the case. "We'll just find a movie that no one's ever seen."

Jason chanced speaking again. "But, why would we have a movie that no one's ever seen?"

Parker narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you still talking?" She questioned. "Just stop talking."

Jason frowned and looked away from Parker, sticking a handful of popcorn in his mouth, as though reminding himself not to speak again. Parker picked up a video and looked at it. "_Halloween_, perfect."

"That's such a stupid movie." Laura said. "It's one of the stupidest movies I've ever seen and I don't watch a lot of horror movies."

Parker scowled at her. "Fine, then you pick a movie." She commanded. "If you know all the scary movies."

Laura untangled herself from Sam and headed over to the pile of movies. Finally, she held one up. "_Scream_." She said. "That sounds scary."

"Lola, you are a loser." Parker pointed out frankly. "Anyone who thinks _Scream _is scary is on drugs. It's not scary, it's not even supposed to be scary."

Laura frowned, deflated. Sam offered the brunette a slight smile and looked over at his sister. "I think it's scary."  
"Of course you do." Parker muttered off-handedly. "But it's not scary. _That _scary anyway."

Jason blinked at his girlfriend. "You think _Scream_ is even a little bit scary?" He questioned and Parker shrugged her shoulders. "What about that movie is scary?"

"Skeet Ulrich looks just like Johnny Depp." Parker pointed out with wide eyes. "You can't get much scarier then that."

Jason had to agree that she had a point. Johnny Depp was scary enough and the last thing that the world needed was another Johnny Depp look-alike running around with a butcher knife. And so he got off the couch and knelt beside Laura, going through the movies as well. He pulled one out of the pile, nearly upsetting the rest of the movies. "_House of 1,000 Corpses_, that sounds like it would be pretty...bloody." He remarked.

Parker snatched the DVD away from him. "Please Jason, it's lame." She attempted to throw it aside but Laura snatched it away from her.

"That's mine." She told the girl. "And it's not lame." She set the DVD aside. "How 'bout _The Exorcist_, I've always heard that was scary."

Sam, since he was the only one on the couch, got up and sat down beside Laura, taking the movie from her. "It's not scary." He informed his girlfriend. "It's just a waste of time."

Jason frowned and took the DVD from him. "I like it." He mumbled, defeated. "When that girl comes down the stairs backward..." He shuddered at the thought.

Sam ignored him. "If you want a really scary movie, we should watch _Cold Creek Manner_."

Laura stared at her boyfriend, stunned. "You're kidding right?" She questioned and Sam shook his head. "C'mon Sam, that's like saying _Dreamcatcher _was scary."

Jason looked at the young couple. "I thought _Dreamcatcher _was scary." He mumbled.

Parker looked at her boyfriend. "Just stop talking." She commanded. "You don't get to participate in the discussion anymore." She picked up a DVD, pleased with herself. "Here's a good one, _Donnie Darko_; it's so weird it's scary."

Sam snatched the DVD away from her before she could put it in the DVD player, throwing it over his shoulder. "What are you thinking woman? That's a movie we don't need to watch."

Laura nodded her agreement and picked up _Final Destination_. "This is my favorite movie." She explained, nearly beaming. "Let's watch this."

Parker rolled her eyes. "You have the worst choice in movie's Lola." She remarked. "_Final Destination _is so dumb; except for that part when that stupid blonde girl gets hit by a bus." Everyone looked at her, but Parker didn't notice the way they all seemed to be imagining her meeting a similar fate. Laura glowered at her, insulted because her movie choice had been insulted.

Jason decided that not participating in the discussion was not an option. "We could always watch _The Rookie_, Dennis Quaid is scary." He shuddered and looked at Parker. "He kinda reminds me of your dad."

Parker grinned broadly. "My daddy." She grinned happily at the mention of her father. "I love him, he's just so-" Any further praise of her father was cut off by a well-aimed DVD case hitting her in the forehead. She blinked, surprised and looked down at the DVD, not at all surprised to see that it was _Final Destination_.

"Put that in." Laura commanded, uncharacteristically growing a backbone. "I want to watch that."

Parker looked at her stunned at her sudden attitude. "No." She said, tossing the DVD back at her but hitting her brother instead. "We're not going to watch that stupid movie."

Laura grabbed it away from Sam, who was rubbing his forehead where he had been hit by the corner of the case. "It's not stupid, so put it in." She threw it back at the blonde. "You don't get to pick all the movies."

"Yes I do." Parker threw the DVD into the kitchen. "Because I'm the oldest."

Jason looked at her. "No, I'm the oldest, so therefore I should get to pick the movies."

Parker shook her head. "You don't count because you'd pick _The Rookie_." She snapped. "So just sit on the couch and wait for me to put in another movie."

Sam decided that he was going to try and pick a movie, even though he had seen that it was wisest to remain silent. "We should watch _Wrong Turn_." He tried to put the movie in the player while Parker was momentarily distracted.

Parker, however, recovered quickly and pulled the DVD out of his hands. "You just want to watch Eliza Dushku, I know your secrets Sam." She informed her brother, who looked at her in surprise. "That's a low thing to do Sam, with your girlfriend right here."

Laura looked at her boyfriend, who shook his head. "I don't like Eliza Dushku." He defended. "I just like it when that girl gets her head cut off." He offered Laura a sheepish smile.

Parker shook her head and picked up a DVD. "We're going to watch _Dawn of the Dead_," she told them. "End of discussion."

Laura, however, didn't think so; if she couldn't watch her movie, then Parker was not going to watch hers. And so, she took the DVD from the blonde's hand and placed it back on the stack of DVDs, before scooping them into her arms and heading for the front door. Sam, Jason and Parker watched as Laura managed to open the door and dump the DVDs on the stoop. "That's settled," she said, pleased with herself as she turned back to face the others. "We're just going to watch T.V."

Parker glared at her but reluctantly got back on the couch; she didn't feel like going outside and fishing her movies out of the bushes. Everyone else settled back on the couch as well and Parker picked up the remote, channel surfing. She beamed when she stopped on one channel, which was just beginning its showing of a certain horror movie: _The Ring_. "Okay, we'll watch T.V."

Laura looked at the television in surprise, trying to figure out if someone was out to get her. It certainly seemed that way. Sam just rolled his eyes and banged his head against the back of the couch. Jason acted as though he didn't notice the movie that had come on the television. Parker looked at the movie with fear in her eyes, acting as though she hadn't just watched the movie.

Parker covered her eyes as Amber Tamblyn prepared to open the door to her bedroom. "Don't open the door!" She cried, hiding her face. "Don't open it!"

Sam just shook his head in disbelief. This was certainly a Halloween he was not going to be willing to repeat.


End file.
